Rainout on Tosti Day

So we played in Jackson, Mississippi, today... and Tosti was back with us for a show! That's right... the skwid-man himself. The show almost didn't happen, however... because it POURED about an hour before-hand.







Luckily, the rain cleared up, and all we had to deal with was hot, sticky, soggy weather. The show went on, and several thousand great mississippians (spelling?!) showed us some southern hospitality!

Justin Benner's Improv Drum Solo

When the power goes out at a Hawk Nelson show... Justin doesn't wait for it to come back on... He channels Phil Collins and starts kickin it old school.

Review of the Paul Reed Smith MIRA

Paul Reed Smith recently turned to a new page, creating a model called the Mira. This guitar is a departure from the more modern look of the CUSTOMs and CEs that PRS is known for... It does not feature the usual maple top or binding, but it has features that most PRSes do not, namely a pickguard and coil tap switch.

I've had the opportunity to play the Mira for 3 shows now, and these are my thoughts...

When I first picked this guitar up, I was struck by how light it is. The body is slightly thinner than I'm used to, but it is VERY comfortable. The beveled edges of the body remind me somewhat of a strat, but the body style SCREAMS les paul junior. Ironically enough, I find that the sound of the guitar falls somewhere between those two guitars. The pickups are uncovered, and have plenty of bite. There is a roundness to the tone that harkens back to a strat, and when the coil tap is engaged you can actually get some pretty stratty tones. When you engage the humbuckers, it's full-bodied rock and roll. More classic rock than modern (which is exactly what I love about it).

I find that most PRS guitars have an almost vocal-like quality to them. Mid-range riffs sing out as clear as day, and solos are clear and full. No ice-pick tone here. The Mira is no exception. The riff at the beginning of our song, "The Show", is a perfect example. This guitar carves out that riff with beautiful fullness and clarity. The riff at the beginning of "California" is another example of the range in which PRS guitars show their worth. They have virtually unmatched clarity in this range...

The tuners are PRS's newer locking tuners, which are wonderful. There are no tricks here. No confusing nuts or bolts like the old-school PRS locking tuners... just a screw that tightens down to make contact with the string. In addition to locking the string, this also helps with sustain... which this axe has no shortage of.

The Mira is the most affordable of all the US-made PRS models. I've gotta say, this is a LOT of guitar for $1500. PRS makes nearly all their parts in house... so the attention to detail is incredible. The Mira features all the attention to detail of the more expensive models. All you have to do is strap one on, and strike a G chord. The Mira sings.

This is the kind of guitar that makes it fun to play guitar again. Everything just works.... I can stop thinking about the tuners, the height of the pickups, or the action... and just play. How much is that feeling worth?

Fort Wayne Show

We played in Fort Wayne, Indiana, last night... and it was a very unique experience... We had flown from Seattle, Washington, all the way out to this part of the country.... We were met by all these wonderful folks!


As sometimes happen in the business of rock and roll, we encountered a little "technical problem". The generator died as we were about to hit our first note! The crowd was so awesome... we couldn't just sit around and wait for the power to come back on, so Jay and I decided to improvise a little sing-along. The hats added to the campy-ness of it all. :)


In fact, I believe some of the sing-along made it onto YouTube!





In the end, we powered the show off the bus generator, and the rock and roll ensued. Yes, that's a fuzzy windscreen on my mic. I like it, ok?


We enjoyed our night in Fort Wayne... walking away feeling like we got to experience a special night. Sometimes when things go wrong, opportunities are created. We got to be a part of a night with more interaction and spontaneity than most other shows.

Thanks for making it a wonderful night for us, and I hope we were able to do the same for you!

p.s. I've received a few emails from people that weren't able to stay long enough to see the show.... If you are one of these people, we are terribly sorry! Please email me at jonathansteingard@gmail.com... We are working on a way to make it up to anyone who missed out on the show due to the late start time....

Seattle/CreationWest '08

It's been a crazy-busy week!!! This is a big one.

We spent a few days in the Seattle area, and it was beautiful! Hawk Nelson's first 2 records were recorded here, so we've spent plenty of time up here. It was actually a little weird to know my way around a city I've never lived in.

On Monday we spent the day with some radio folks, other bands, and friends from our label. We all went on one of those duck tours of the Seattle area. It was a tour that takes you on one of those amphibious buses, and shows you sights both on land and water. I've seen them drive by in various cities before, and I always said... "Geez, what a gimmick. Tourists will spend their money on anything!" Well, folks.... I guess I spoke too soon. It was actually a really good time.


This was our guide. The hair is a wig. He laughed really loud, ran tons of red lights, and cussed like a sailor (would a floating bus driver qualify as a sailor?). He actually made the tour for me. I was never quite sure what he would say next. At one point he pretty much parked the bus in an intersection and blocked traffic... suggesting that we should give anyone that honked the New York salute. Not quite sure what that means :). Ok I do know what that means.


This was the view from the bridge down towards the water's edge. Seattle has a ton of waterfront, and it's all pretty much gorgeous.


From down on the lake we could see downtown in one direction, and little houses and houseboats in nearly every other direction.


It was quite far away, but the little houseboat on the right in this picture was the houseboat in "Sleepless In Seattle". It is currently up for sale for $2.5 million. Yikes.


A pontoon plane landed right next to us as we were cruising around the bay.


We drove by the Seattle Space Needle, and the Experience Music Project, which we took the time to visit. There was a lot to see at this independant Music Museum, but this took the cake...


This was a 3 story high tornado of guitars and other instruments. It's impossible to convey the scale of this thing in a picture. It was MASSIVE.... and there were 6 guitars built into the display that each had 1 string connected to a computerized strumming apparatus.... and those 6 single-string guitars came together to reproduce songs that you could listen to in headphones. Complicated, I know... but very cool.


At this point in the day, I'm exhausted from all the walking around.


So is Daniel.

The next day Daniel, myself, and a couple friends of ours walked down to Pike's Place Market, and up to Capitol Hill. I probably walked 6 or 7 miles that day.


This is the first starbucks ever, and the only starbucks to still display the original (and sometimes controversial) logo in the front window. The lines were out-the-door today, so no coffee was enjoyed at this location, but I've had it before.... It's still starbucks. :)


This is the view from the walk up to Capitol Hill, looking back down at the waterfront. Paramount Theater is on the left side there.


Although it doesn't look like much on the outside, this is the studio where we recorded our first 2 Hawk Nelson records. We've all spent many weeks here.... I wonder whose car was getting towed?!


That night we went to a Seattle Mariners game! Our friend Mike knows the Mariners pitcher who started that night, so we were able to all get in for free. It was a great game, although the Mariners came up short.


Tyson really likes me... I mean a lot. Look, he's even dressing like me. Ok, I dress like him. So what? There's nothing wrong with that.

The next day brought us to the Gorge Ampitheatre in central Washington. This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. You can see for miles and miles, and the stage is set on the edge of a giant canyon. Although it's not the GRAND canyon, it's still pretty freakin grand. This is one of my favorite shows of the year, and this year we got to play in the dark on main stage, with a great crowd and a fun light show.

This is the ampitheatre before doors opened.


This is Justin's perfect world. He's watched David Matthews Band Live at the Gorge more times than you can shake a stick at, and he finally got to play the same stage as his hero Carter Beauford. Perfect world.


This is our soundcheck. I didn't take any pictures of the show... because... well, I was busy. I'm hoping to get some from somebody, somewhere. I heard the show was being filmed... but if I believed everything I heard, I'd still think Bret Michaels had talent.



This is me with Jack Higginbotham of Paul Reed Smith Guitars. I had just finished playing a super fun show, so that's why I've got such a stupid grin on my face! Jack and I hung out a bunch yesterday... We talked guitars, music, family... all kinds of stuff. I can't say enough good things about Jack, Bev, and the team at PRS. I am so very blessed to be working together with the most dedicated, talented, and hardworking guitar company in the world.

* Jack set me up with a new MIRA model PRS to check out. A full detailed review will be forthcoming in the next few days!

I've had a great time in the Pacific North-West this week. It's one of my favorite parts of the country, and I always enjoy my times there. We'll be back in Portland next month for a day, playing a Louis Palau CityFest Event.... I'm looking forward to it!

Race and Culture

Over the last 5 years, I feel as though I've had my eyes opened to a great many things I didn't always know about the world. I grew up mostly in small towns in Canada, and I knew virtually nothing about racism. All the towns I lived in where almost entirely white, and racism was just something I learned about in school. I completely had the perception that it was a problem many years ago, and Martin Luther King came around, and made a few speeches... and that was that. I really was pretty much that naive.

Racism itself was a dirty word. I would feel uncomfortable just hearing someone say it. I remember thinking that it was just a backward, obsolete notion that had no place in modern society. Then again, my high school was 99% white... so it would be hard for racial tensions to arise, wouldn't it?

Since being in the U.S. for 4-5 years, and living in Tennessee no less, I've been shocked time and time again to see how much of an issue racism really is. I mean, this issue is entrenched in the culture here. This was a huge surprise to me.... It was like finding a live dinosaur in your friend's back yard, when you had always been taught they were extinct.

I don't quite know what to think about it all.... But I do know that thinking about all these things has brought me face to face with some of my own prejudices that I didn't even know were there. I noticed that I'm most comfortable with people that look, act, and talk like I do.

I lived in a low-cost downtown apartment complex for a few years back... and I was the only white guy in the building. My roommate was Chinese, and virtually every other resident was African-American. I was surprised at how uncomfortable I was. I remember walking up the stairs to my apartment, and other residents would be hanging around outside.... they would stop their conversations and just stare at me as I walked up the stairs. I wondered what they were thinking? Did they mistrust me because I was different than them? I had to be honest with myself, and realize that I was making judgments about them.... I felt quite uncomfortable the whole time I lived there. It was a rougher part of town, but what was I basing my discomfort on... Race? Culture? Or was it as simple as being uneasy about living in a rough neighbourhood? How did all these things interact?

Race seems to be on the front pages nearly every day recently. Barack Obama, a half-black, half-white junior senator from Illinois, is running for President, and he may win. It's clear that this is going to bring the notion of racism in the the spotlight. Everyone's got an opinion. Some people think Obama might win "because he's black", while others think if he loses it'll be "because he's black". Some people accuse Obama of glossing over the race issues... pretending they're not there. Others look at people like Rev. Jesse Jackson and wonder if his activism is hurting more than helping the situation. Everyone's got an angle. Sometimes it feels as though American culture is consumed with a sense of "Everyone Versus Everyone".

I mean, let's not forget... Racism is not just about black and white. There are thousands of different cultures out there... each one with unique peoples, and different perspectives on the world. A walk around downtown Toronto is enough to get a sense of that.

I find it hard to develop solid opinions because I sense so much history in these divisions. There are so many deeply entrenched feelings and beliefs... and many of these are somewhat regional. Things are different in Tennessee than they are in Texas, and different in Canada than they are in California. Traveling around this country has been a very eye-opening experience for me.

The only thing I know for sure is that this country (and the world) is far bigger and far more complex than I feel I was taught in school. Many issues have the ability to linger for centuries. The older I get, the more I realize I know very little about the world. I feel like I understand less every year. I guess that's part of growing up... not to mention moving to a new country in your twenties. I wonder how the world will appear to my eyes in another 5 years. At this rate, I feel like discovering a live dinosaur in my own backyard wouldn't be that surprising.

Chicago Hates Hawk Nelson

Yesterday we played a festival just outside Chicago, and we had quite the day. It was at a baseball field, and as I walked out to the stage I couldn't help but notice how AWESOME the grass was. I really wish my grass was that nice.

For the most part, that's where the good ended, and the bad began. Jay's mic died halfway through our set, and we had some other difficulties that altogether made the day pretty frustrating. There were a TON of bands playing this stage (Newsboys, Mercy Me, David Crowder, Hawk Nelson, Superchick, Red), and everyone had loads of gear.... So the back-stage area looked like a yard sale. Instruments and cases were strewn about like dirty laundry.

I would have to say that the David Crowder Band gets the "Garage Sale Award". Each member of the band has at least 2 instruments, and many have much more. Quite a few of them are home-made... including an instrument made from a car battery, a guitar with a nintendo controller built in, and they even had a guitar hero controller that had been modified to sample real guitar sounds. I also remember seing a lawn-gnome on stage. That added to the yard sale effect. They make some amazing music with all that stuff, but I always feel bad for them at festivals... It would stress me out to have that much stuff lying around for our set!

After a long day, we got back to our hotel to find that someone had been in our room, and had stolen our manager's laptop and iphone. This is not the first time we have been robbed in chicago. About 3 years back our van was broken into in Chicago, so I'm starting to think this city has it in for us. We called the police and filed a report, and I was surprised with the response. A very nice officer came by the hotel room and took a statement, telling us that detectives will be talking to the cleaning crew, and checking for any possible video footage in the area. I didn't realize they'd go to such lengths for a theft of a laptop.




Well, I don't know who committed this dirty deed.... but one thing is certain. If Columbo were here, this mystery would already be solved.


Oh, and one more thing....


Steer clear of Chicago.

Sonshine Festival

We played Sonshine Festival yesterday... and we had a great time! Our friends Tobymac, David Crowder, TFK, and Capital Lights were all there.... Brett from Capital Lights took some pictures on my new camera....

Mulch Mulch Mulch

Our garden (if you can call it that) at home was getting a little out-of-control.... I do most of the yardwork at our house, and when I'm gone a lot playing shows it starts to look a little.... sad. It had been neglected long enough to almost completely grow over with weeds.



So Jess and I spent 2 hours in the scorching sun (during the hottest part of the afternoon, so there were no shadows, and i could take THESE PICTURES) weeding and cultivating the soil. We had brought home a few bags of mulch from Lowe's, and this was the result!




It's amazing what $20 worth of mulch and a couple hours of gardening will get you:

A sunburn and the knowledge that as a homeowner, you'll have to do this a couple times a year.

Yippee!

Creation East 2008.

This is the story of two girls and their long and perilous journey to see Hawk Nelson at Creation East 2008.

Winchester, KY / PRS Guitars

These are a few shots of our show last week at Winchester, KY.
Thanks for the photos, Mike Mankel....

I'm playing a couple of Paul Reed Smith guitars in these photos. The first is my PRS Singlecut in a tortoiseshell finish, and the second is a PRS SE Singlecut in Blue Matteo.

The folks at Paul Reed Smith make some awesome guitars.... They are famous for their high-end line of guitars, but their "SE" line is in the $450-$650 range, and they are KILLER. I don't think any other guitar company can match this quality at this price. My blue SE Singlecut is a ton of fun to play, and it sounds killer. The attention to detail that they put into each guitar is phenomenal. I haven't yet played a PRS that felt cheap or clumsy (from their cheapest to their most expensive).

I can't say enough good things about these guitars, and the people who make them...

Go to www.prsguitars.com to check 'em out!

Athe-what-ism?

It's days like today that make atheism seem so implausible to me. I don't see how anyone could seriously doubt the existence of God if they had a day like I did today.

It all started with craigslist. I constantly peruse the nashville craigslist for smokin deals on musical gear and so forth... and I had found a guy that had a road case that I needed, while I had a road case that he needed. Perfect world, right?

So we agreed to meet at the Nashville Guitar Center.... and when we did, I discovered that my newly-acquired case DOES NOT FIT in my car. I tried everything.. I even considered strapping it to the roof. I don't know why I ever thought that such a big case would fit in a JETTA, but I did. Silly me, I know.

I finally decided to leave the case at guitar center, and travel 20 miles back to Franklin, where our band van is parked, pick up the van, drive it BACK to guitar center, and then BACK to Franklin again. The idea of going to such great lengths for this case wasn't exactly appealing, but I didn't see an alternative.... So I made the arrangements with the guitar center dude, and headed out the door back to my car.... When, who should I run into?

THIS GUY.

This is our drummer, Justin... Yes, he his handsome, and his personal hygiene is WELL above board.....

Now, Justin has more positive traits than I could possibly list, but in that moment, there is one trait that I was interested in more than any other.... He drives an SUV.

Justin "Thank You Jesus" Benner had just HAPPENED to be walking into guitar center when I walked out. Neither of us go to guitar center very often, and if our timing had been just a few seconds off, we might never have run into each other.

If I wasn't a believer already, I sure would be now.

:)

PRS Guitars

Hey All...

I want to share with you that I've begun working with the guys from Paul Reed Smith guitars, and I'll be playing their awesome instruments wherever I go with Hawk Nelson. I've had a PRS Singlecut for about a year, and that's given me the chance to compare it to all kinds of other guitars..... and they've all come up short. So give them some love, and check out their beautiful guitars on their website!

www.prsguitars.com

(oh and if any of y'all have a better photo than this... please feel free to email it to me!)

here are just a few examples of the guitars they make.... (incidentally it's also something of a "wish list" for me...)